McLaren Honda star Fernando Alonso takes to the wheel of Honda’s new NSX at historic Estoril circuit in Portugal

Spanish media experience exclusive ‘ride along’ with Alonso as part of its European launch activities

Formula 1 legend Ayrton Senna, who was involved in the development of the original NSX over 25 years ago, took his maiden win at the Portuguese circuit

New NSX features a 3.5-litre V6 twin turbo, three motor hybrid power unit coupled to a nine-speed DCT gearbox, manufactured at Honda’s Performance Manufacturing Centre (PMC) in Marysville, Ohio

Order books are open for NSX across Europe, with deliveries starting this autumn

Star of McLaren Honda Formula 1 team Fernando Alonso took a break from racing to take the wheel of Honda’s new NSX hybrid sports car.

In an exclusive event for Spanish media, Fernando Alonso took the NSX on the historic Estoril circuit (Lisbon, Portugal), giving journalists the chance to ride along with the double world champion.

During the post-drive press conference, Fernando commented, “In terms of driving what really has surprised me are the brakes, the feelings are not so far from what we feel driving in F1.”. He added, “Driving the NSX is softer and sweeter than an F1 car because you are not searching for every little fraction of an inch, as you do in races. It is like the difference between artistic drawing and technical drawing”.

The venue of Estoril was a poignant one, due to its strong link with Formula 1 legend Ayrton Senna. Senna took his maiden grand prix victory at the track in 1985, and was strongly involved in the development and launch of Honda’s original NSX during the late 1980s. The track has been a happy hunting ground for other Honda powered racers, both on four wheels and two.

Honda’s hybrid sports car features a new longitudinally mounted, twin-turbo, six-cylinder DOHC engine, combined with dual clutch transmission (DCT) and nine speeds, developed specifically for this model. A rear Direct Drive Motor, housed between the engine and gearbox, enhances performance during acceleration, braking and gear changes. In addition, the front wheels of the NSX are powered independently by two parallel high-performance electric motors, which provide instant torque. The combined power unit has a maximum output of 581 hp.

The NSX is manufactured exclusively at the Honda Performance Manufacturing Center (PMC) in Marysville, Ohio (United States), where 100 production experts are responsible for manufacturing the full bodywork, paintwork and final assembly.

European order books opened in April this year, with the first deliveries commencing from autumn.